Winner

Totally cool and original Alt Rocker from one of the most exciting and interesting artists on the New York Music scene. Watch out for Paul! During our East Coast Roadtrip, he totally electrified the room at several of our showcases, including an surprising and blistering blues guitar solo that knocked us all over. His charismatic looks and ultra cool demeanor could take him a long way, but combined with his raw performance talent and risk taking/cliche breaking songwriting he is a potential monster success waiting to happen.

Winner

A witty and manic song from the brilliant mind of one of the most clever and passionate songwriters I have come across. Susan puts it all out on the table and we can only sit back and enjoy. It is rare to find someone who can make you laugh til your sides hurt AND turn around in the next song and bring a sincere tear to your eye with such natural ease. Susan is also a vocal coach and her band Susan's Room is excellent.

Winner

Proof positive that writing what you know, in a compelling and fresh way that others can relate to is a formula for success that pretenders can't quite ever reach. Susan's own emotionally charged performance brings even more depth to this now classic song and her band the Groobee's seem to be hitting their stride with their Award winning, self titled album that also produced another amazing song written by her bandmates "Make Your Hay." This is a group that has shown tremendous improvement and amazing focus from their first album to their second and with Susan's signature vocal work, the bands great vibe and sound and the strength of all the writers in the band, I expect these guys will be around for a long time.

Winner

A wonderful journey back in time when a kid could sit with their record player and listen to fairy tales and stories about two mice who are best friends. I didn't realize that fun songs like this were still being produced, and I am glad to find it with the work of Dixon Devore and his story book approach to kids music.

Winner

Adone Estas Ahora

Claudia Brant's torch song vocals bring a warmth and beauty to this soaring Latin Ballad that bridges the language gap and moves the listener regardless of nationality and language. A well known and successful artist in South America who moved the to US to seek her fame and fortune here, Claudia's live performance at our showcase in LA last year mesmerized us all bringing life to her fine writing.

Winner

An uplighting and beautiful song that tells a compelling story, not of romantic love, but of strength and hope of a community of people pursuing their dreams and overcoming adversity. Polished writing and performances by John Smith put this song on top of the Contemporary genre. John is no secret to those in the know, and it is easy to see why he has been a successful staff writer in Nashville for several years, but with work like this, expect to hear even more about him as an artist going forward!

Winner

Some of the most effective Contemporary Christian artists get their messages across with subtlety rather than fire and brimstone. Tammy's gorgeous voice, production and writing made this a powerful and beautiful song first, and one with a positive christian message as an effective genre bonus. Tammy is a writer who deserves a lot of attention for her ability to mix great music, writing and performance with her messages and hopefully the pro's in this genre will take notice! Sometimes positively compared to Amy Grant's performance style, in my opinion, (as a big Amy Grant fan myself), Tammy is even better, especially considering she wrote all these songs herself, without the luxury of staff writers around the world to fill in the spaces.

Winner

This may be the first winning song I heard when John M. played it for me during my first visit to Nashville, long before we even thought of having a music awards. I remembered thinking right away that he really had to get that song out and bring some well deserved attention to it. Well here we are. In another example of breaking the rules, this song, at 6 minutes plus, broke convention and succeeded on it's own merit. Using a universal and positive message with a heartfelt and sincere performance, John M. has always been a tell it from the heart type writer and this genre is a perfect compliment to his skills.

Winner

Melody's dominance in this years Country Music nominations was validated with a win for her solo penned song "The Man I Really Need." Though her performance alone is worthy of major label consideration, her songwriting is probably even more impressive. She is more than radio ready already. (Say that 10 times fast!) There are at least 5 major hit quality songs on her album, and with the right marketing and support, some might be #1 material. A fine example of honest writing from the heart without the cliches and crafted writing without crossing over to formulae. After hearing a slew of her new writing, I feel that 2001 will be a break out year for her as a writer and hopefully as an aritst. Stayed tuned to this girl!

Winner

In my opinion, the folk genre in this year's music awards was the most competitive and frankly had some of the most brilliant songs I have heard from ANY genre to date. (5 of my personal 10 favorite songs were in this single genre.) I received responses from more than 2/3rds of the judges in this genre telling me this was the hardest for them to judge. Debra's universal song about loneliness, teardrops and heartache is so refreshingly written that it charmed the judges enough to finish on top of this amazing collection of songs. See more about Debra under Artist of the Year!

Winner

Though I didn't realize this until I was putting together this issue, Bonnie Warrens's song is the ONLY individual song winner that wasn't performed by the writer herself. This says a lot about Bonnie's savvy as not only a writer but a professional who took the time and effort to cast the right vocalist for her demo (and yes, this was simply a demo) and get the right producer to help her put it together. This song is a power R&B ballad of the Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey type vein, and has also been recorded with a Latin production and held up equally well, showing the melody and lyrics were right on the mark. One of the most impressive side notes about Bonnie is that she lives with her traditional nuclear family in a tradional nuclear suburban neighborhood with all the busy work of a typical large family with 3 thriving kids and she still manages to produce outstanding and professional quality work because she is dedicated and relentless in her efforts to move forward in her writing and industry skills. (And she is a networking machine!) If you think it can't be done, Bonnie is an excellent example to the contrary.

Winner

A raw and honest telling of the universal tale of the lowly fast food/retail/no insurance/no benefits/no future sad luck story that has been told by every genre of music and every diverse background through musical history. One of the greatest and often overlooked qualities of great Rap/Hip Hop music is the honesty of emotion and brutal honesty of the point of view, which in less capable hands than Sekou's can simply become vulgar or offensive, but here becomes the frustrating reality that so many of us have experienced. The commonality of many of these winning songs are in their truthfulness and vulnerability and once again Sekou delivers. On his winning Holiday Album, not only does Sekou entertain us with smooth R&B tracks, but also educates us about this wonderful and positive new tradition that includes all walks of life and all religions with equal support and deference. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be entertained and enlightened at the same time.

Winner

Patti managed to do something that surprised even me, and I have seen it all. She won the Rock category with a powerful, though simply produced ballad. When the nominations were put together, we thought long and hard about whether to include this song in this genre, or perhaps move it somewhere where more slow and ballad type songs were included. The rest of the songs on Patti's submission were more straight ahead rock songs and this song just begged to remain in that company. One of the largest compliments came from a judge who commented "even though Slow Burn was perhaps the simplest production in the genre, the powerfulness of the vocals, melody and lyrical message burned like a bright light and stuck out head and shoulders above the more traditional rock songs for me." I couldn't have said it better myself. Patti is a great live performer as well and has blown us all away at the Philly area show's she has joined us for.

Winner

Many of you are well aware of the recent and well deserved success of the band Fisher. On November 14th, while we were handing out their award for Best Pop Song and Best Pop Album, they were in the midst of the first day of their International Major Label release called True North. One of the first singles from that release is their winning Just Plain Folks music awards songs "Hello It's Me." A scathing indictment to the business as usual in the music industry, it is a testament to the bands single minded bullheadedness that has served them so well. We have previously documented some of this in our Christmas Eve interview in Issue 49 we did last year as they were putting their finishing touches on their new Major deal. If Indianapolis is any indication, they should do well with this album because the two record stores I checked with were sold out of their album album already and had more coming in later in the day. I am excited to watch this band blast off from the ground up and we are all here cheering these Just Plain Folks Mentors on to success!

Winner

Mike Farley seems locked into the current Modern/College Rock sound as well as any member we've heard. With catchy melodies and hooks, vintage college rock guitar and a vocal that would be at home on any Frat House party tape, Mike already has hit his commercial radio stride. I had a big smile on my face last summer when I was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, looking at the Just Plain Folks members and friends and relatives of our members who have been inducted and wondering who would be the first new member of our Organization who would be mentioned within the Hallowed Halls. I didn't have to wait long, because as I sat down for lunch and looked at the little promo table tent, I see Mike Farley's name listed as a featured Hall of Fame concert performer. Sure, it isn't an induction, but perhaps it will serve as a positive indicator that our members, including Mike, just might find themselves amongst the Hall royalty one day.

Winner

I first met Nils in the somewhat unlikely set of circumstances. He was backing up one of our other members at one of our showcases in Los Angeles last year and really knew little to nothing about us. That was fair enough, because at the time, I had no idea who he was either. I would soon find out though, when he handed me a copy of his then just release Instrumental CD "Blue Planet." Before I could even listen to it upon my return to Indianapolis, I read the list of Jazz Music who's who that performed on it, and who Nils also regularly worked with himself, including the likes of George Benson and others. Once I listened to the CD, I could see why. Brilliantly composed and arranged instrumentals (with few vocal tracks thrown in) permeated the CD and I was hooked. Fortunately Nils himself signed up with the group and a year later he was the first ever live recipient of a Just Plain Folks Music Award. Funny how things happen when you get out there and get involved eh?

Winner

These guys might be from Colorado, but when you put their CD on, you'll swear you've walked into a warm and boisterous pub somewhere inside Dublin, Ireland. From their kick off and winning title song "In Like Flynn" and throughout, these guys know how to get your blood pumping and raise the hairs on your arms. I don't know what it is exactly but when I listen to this CD I get the urge to down a pint and get my dart board out of storage.

Winner

Think of Tom Waits. Now think of a gentle giant with a warm soul and a heart of gold. Think of razor sharpness, with a somehow soft cuddly furry edge. A contradiction? You bet. But it seems to fit Matthew Lee quite well. Lastly, think of a large sledgehammer gently tapping in a thumbtac with precision and care. His gruff vocal style and in some respects gruff appearance immediately contradict his beautifully luscious and deeply personal and descriptive lyrics and heartfelt performances filled with passion and emotion. His delicate piano arrangements lilt gently along with the airy atmosphere his performance induces and you find yourself hanging on each new word or phrase. I found this especially true during his live performances as well. It's easy to see why folks have referred to him as the best unsigned artist in LA.

Winner

(Tie)

There's hope after all for all of you who have been told that your song is simply too long. One of the interesting things I noted this year was that, on average, it seemed that longer songs actually did pretty darn well in the music awards. But none as well as this song, which was the longest song nominated at app. 9 minutes long. But when you have such a soulful jazz sax performance flowing through this excellent smoky and movie soundtrack-esque instrumental jazz composition, you quickly loss track of time and sit back and enjoy. I know I do when I hear it. This was one of two original tracks on Fred's Jazz CD, and it begs the question of when he'll release a complete album of his originals. I know I am looking forward to it!

Winner

(Tie)

And now for something completely different. Actually, that is misleading, and perhaps I should say for the ultimate in retro, Karen's 40's Jazz classic really hits the spot. Totally at home with the likes of Paper Moon and other Jazz Standards of the same feel and style, Karen takes us back in time, yet leaves her personal mark with this fine original composition. In such a diverse grouping of songs that were nominated in this genre, it's really a pleasure to see that tasteful and straight forward production and writing can still compete and be recognized along with its more experimental brethren. Kudos to Karen for taking us on the proverbial sentimental journey.

Winner

Anytime a hard rock artist/writer can knock you over playing acoustic guitar with a stand up acoustic bassist in a large rock venue, you know he has something going. That is how I was first introduced to Johnny Young and I remember first hearing his CD on the drive from the US East Coast to my home in the Midwest and thinking, WOW, this guy rocks! In keeping with the trend towards longer songs doing well, this 6 plus minute rock song get's it's intensity across through sheer will and mood rather than screaming guitar solos and heavily compressed riffs. (Though he does that stuff well too!) Johnny is an original voice in the Hard Rock world and we are pleased to see his music recognized here.

Winner

Widely hailed as a virtuoso and compared to the likes of Yo Yo Ma, ShaundDarius has moved beyond his days as a top Movie Industry Film Score Cellist and into his own groove, producing artists and creating his own masterpieces on cello. I make no personal claims of being any type of authority or expert in the classical genre, but I do know enough to appreciate brilliance when I hear it. Whenever a classical musician can earn the respect and admiration of fans as diverse and heavy metal enthusiasts, and still impress a room full of producers (like he did at one of our LA workshops last year), he has my full attention and appreciation. ShaunDarius does things with a cello that has your forgetting it is a small, quiet member of the string family, and thinking of it as a jazz, rock, folk or experimental instrument. ShaunDarius knows all the rules and laughs with his devious chuckle as he moves beyond them all and into his own realm. Kudo's to him for broadening this writers horizon with a taste of expertise not often found in today's bubble gum-esque music industry.